The Vampire's Knightmare
by Jam Jones
Summary: So far, in the world of Vampire Knight, it's said vampires are the only ones hiding in the dark...but is that true? Is it possible there is something else hiding and waiting for a time to strike? What if their world is about to change?
1. Chapter 1 The Warning

** ENJOY! :)**

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><p>Kaname stood in the middle of the debris field. Something told him he was making a huge mistake, being here when there was other strangeness out there. The sky was unusually dark for the hour and the wind was going crazy in his ears.<p>

Bending over, he noticed a small sheet of paper that was oddly untouched.

His name was scribbled on the back. Flipping it over, he read:

_The monsters of your nightmares have been awakened._

_ If you haven't guessed, we are all going to rise from the graves you've dug us._

_Personally, I'm coming for blood._

_ If you value your life, Kaname, you will give me what I want:_

_ The Alice Witch, and by that, we both know I mean the bitch of a human host._

_ In exchange, you and your sister go free._

_ THE BLOOD WILL SPILL AND THE VERMIN WILL DIE,_

Rowan Aaru

Kaname felt himself choke on air. After nearly four hundred years, Rowan Aaru was awake. No wonder the weather—the storm was coming. All the angry witches that had been put to sleep in an attempt to save mankind were waking up.

With them, Rowan Aaru, their Queen, had awoken.

She knew about Yuki, too.

But what could he possibly do?

Looking up, he scanned the field for anyone. On the very line of the property, a woman stood patiently, buying her time, watching him realize and accept what she was.

She smiled, showing a row of jagged teeth—not fangs—these teeth were more sinister, more monstrous, and weren't for drinking human blood. That was too tame for a witch. These teeth were for the wickedest thing the mind could imagine.

Shivering, he gave her a nod.

As he had before, Kaname Kuran was making agreements with the Queen of the Witches. Somehow, even now, he was her favorite vampire. After all, he always fell into place under her. She was mad—but she had power.

Power the others couldn't even imagine. Not yet.


	2. Chapter 2 An Almost Fatal Mistake

**CHAPTER TWO! I'm so proud! :') As before, I don't own Vampire Knight or its characters, but since this is a little after story by me, the newer characters WERE my idea, so...I don't remember where this thought was headed. Oh, well. Can't be helped, I guess. Read on!**

**Sincerely Smiling,**

**Jam Jones**

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><p>Rima watched as the sky began to cloud around the Academy. The once peaceful night was interrupted by large, rolling winds and flashes of bright, green light.<p>

"The weather is strange," Rima said.

Shiki, walking with the same bored expression beside her, didn't so much as blink. He simply tilted left, just barely under the cover of Rima's umbrella.

"I don't like it." Rima said more fiercly.

"What do you plan to do about it?" Shiki asked.

Rima let her umbrella droop down, so she could take in the whole sky at once. Angry air whipped past her face, whipping it up and back roughly.

Rima pursed her lips, "Unnatural."

Thunder boomed, sending rattles through the entire Day Class dorm to their right. Rima stopped walking and stood still, waiting for whatever was coming. Shiki, following her lead, stopped a few steps in front of her. He watched her face closely as she watched the sky, her eyes angry and confused.

Another bolt of green lightning hit the ground a few feet from where they stood. Rima didn't move, while Shiki moved to protect her, unsettled by the strike's strange movement. As the first shock wore off, he realized the strike had left nothing behind—but it had started chaos throughout the school.

Screams from above filled the air.

"What's happening?" he cursed quietly.

Rima looked towards the Night Class dorm. "They're awake," she hissed, picking up speed again. "We need to get the rest of the Night Class inside again!"

"Rima, wait!" Shiki caught her hand. "Look!"

At least three stories above them, a window had broken open from the blast of the lightning strike. Standing inside the frame was a fragile-looking girl, with pale skin and water-like brown hair. The storm caused it to shield her face, but Rima could see something was very, very wrong with this human girl.

"What's wrong with her?" Shiki asked.

"I think…" Rima paused. "I think she's in a trance."

They watched as the girl began to climb, placing her hands against the inside of the broken frame as if she didn't feel a thing. Rima flinched as she watched, horrified at how easily the human was hurting herself. She clearly had no knowledge of the pain her body was experiencing.

"She's going to fall." Rima realized.

"Don't worry," Shiki took a step forward and planted his feet. "She's not going to get hurt. I've got her."

"Shiki—" Rima tried to warn him, but the girl fell just as she did. There were more screams of above—probably the human girl's now-awake roommate—and a loud crash.

Faster then even Rima could see, Shiki had scraped down his arm to where a good, steady flow of blood and then, with a swing of his shoulder, had caught the girl in a net-like hold.

"Got her," he muttered in triumph, dropping to the ground. As soon as his feet touched down, the wind died and the storm clouds began to break.

It was over. Only a minute or two had passed since the arrival of the storm. What could make something like that appear and reappear so suddenly?

"Allura!" a girl's voice called from above. Both Shiki and Rima looked up to see Sayori Wakaba, hands covering her mouth as she breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh my goodness, what's happened? Is she alright?"

Shiki and Rima looked at one another with the same _wow, she really gets the worst roommates_ look.

"She's…I don't know," Rima held her umbrella up high over her head. "We'll take her to the doctor person."

"The nurse?" Sayori called down.

"Uh, yes," Rima said, strutting away. "That person."

Shiki looked down at the girl in his arms. She had the same human smell, the same features, and the same fragile look to her—but something made his stomach turn. Lowering his face, he bent down and took a deep breath. His fangs ached in his mouth, so close to a human girl, defenseless, probably bleeding…

"Senri, don't touch her."

Shiki's head shot up. The shear shock of realizing what he was about to do. Both Rima, the Chairman, and Sayori were staring at him in shock.

"Chairman?" Shiki said.

"Hold your breath and give me the girl," the Chairman Cross commanded.

Shiki glanced back down at the peaceful face in his arms. The smell that wafted up to him was no longer human, but it wasn't anywhere near a vampire, either. It smelled so…_fresh_. And _tasty_. He just wanted a bite, that was all…

"Shiki!" Rima shouted. "Listen to the Chairman!"

Shiki didn't understand. What was wrong? It was one human; he'd surely stop before any real damage was done. The girl would be fine, a little tired at the most. What would a sip hurt?

Leaning down, he let his fangs extend to full length. Moving her neck for better access, Shiki closed his eyes and let instinct take over.

Somebody screamed, "No!"

Pain slammed into Shiki. He let go of the girl, he lost control for a second, and when he opened his eyes, he found himself on the ground. On top of him, cradeling her bruised cheek, was Sayori Wakaba.

_What just…happened?_

Shiki looked around. The girl—Allura, Sayori had called her—was on the ground. Kneeling beside her was the Chairman, while Rima stood trembling over Shiki.

"Are you…hurt?" Rima asked.

Shiki shook his head.

Sayori sighed in relief. "Thank goodness." She got off his lap and sat back on the ground. Her white nightgown was stained with mud, but she didn't seem to care at all. She was too busy wiping tears from her eyes.

_What was I…doing?_

"Is the girl…okay?" Shiki asked the Chairman.

"She's going to be fine," the Chairman said without looking up. "What about you? Do you remember anything about what just happened?"

Shiki shook his head.

"You're very lucky Sayori risked her own life to save yours," the Chairman scolded gently.

"Don't be silly, Chairman!" Sayori said quickly. "I simply didn't want things to get complicated for Shiki…or for Yuki! He seemed to be so lost, so confused…I don't think he had any idea what he was about to do!"

The Chairman nodded his head sympathetically. "That he didn't." Being careful not to touch anything that might have been injured, the Chairman lifted Allura's right arm. Shiki's eyes widened at the amount of blood coming from a star-shaped cut in the center of her palm. It ran all the way down to her elbow, pooling on the ground beneath her. "You were driven by the very scent of this blood. Little did you know it was extremely toxic—for a vampire."

Nobody had enough time to adjust to the information before both Guardians came running at the Chairman from different differents. Zero from the Night Class direction, Yuki from the Day Class. Both had looks of pure concern on their faces.

"Chairman!" Yuki started in first. "There are eleven different cases, but I managed to keep all the other students away and put the students in the infirmary!"

"Chairman," Zero said, much more calmly, "I kept the Night Class students under close eye, as you instructed. Not one slipped past the gate—but several fights went up through the crowd."

Sighing, the Chairman rose from the ground. "Yuki, didn't I ask _you_ to control the Night Class students?" He then directed his attention to Zero. "And, didn't I ask _you_ to get the students safely to the infirmary, Zero?"

Both Guardians just stared at him blankly.

"Oh, well, the jobs were done," the Chairman offered his hand to Sayori. Once she was off the ground, she helped the Chairman sling Allura over his shoulder. It looked uncomfortable, but the girl could have been in worse shape. "We did well, considering what others must be going through. Good work, all of you."

Zero shifted uncomfortably. "'Others'?"

The Chairman sighed. "Do you seriously believe this is just chance, Zero? Right now, that same lightning storm is occuring all over the world. These very lucky twelve students were fortunate to have been in our care. I suspect both sides will be incredibly angered by the end of the night."

Now Yuki's mood sank. "What…sides? Chairman, what on Earth is going on here?" she demanded.

"I'm not sure I'm the right person to explain," the Chairman admitted. "But you will have an explanation, and it will come soon. For now, it's important we get Allura to the nurse."

Yuki nodded and extended her arms. "Of course."

For a few moments, Chairman Cross just stared at her blankly. He looked at Allura and then back to Yuki's open arms once, sighed, and brought Allura closer to Yuki.

All at once, Yuki looked sick to her stomach. Both her hands shot to cover her mouth and nose, a loud gasp/hisp sound filling the air. Cringing away, she looked at the Chairman with lost eyes. He smiled bitterly at her, understanding what she was thinking and responding the best he could.

"Do you understand now?" he asked, drawing Allura back. "You're no exception to this. Nobody—at least, no vampire—may touch Allura's blood—for if they do, they will suffer a terrible, terrible consequence."

"Why?" Sayori asked. "Why can't Yuki touch Allura?"

"Isn't she a Pureblood?" Rima asked. "Isn't she able to…_control_…what we sometimes cannot?"

"Not this time," the Chairman shook his head, looking at Shiki, who cringed at the pity in the older man's eyes. "Now, which way was that nurse's office again?"

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><p><strong>Voila! Two down! I especially loved this chapter! Allura's name means to "attract" or "entice." I'm so glad Shiki didn't suffer a terrible fate. He and Rima are my two favorite vampires, because they're how I imagine vampires to be-uncaring, bored-looking, but also part of the group without trying at all. I think their relationship is kinda cute, but at the same time, natural and normal.<strong>

**Well, that's all, folks!**

**Sincerely Smiling,**

**Jam Jones**


	3. Chapter 3 The Girl inside the Phone

**Why do we always say "I don't own this, please don't hurt me I'm a poor kid from Illinois" at the beginning of every story? It confuses me. Isn't this a fanfiction site? Doesn't everybody know that we're all doing spin-offs of different types of real life material, with our own characters and ideas mixed in?**

**Or am I just a nut who has no idea what I'm doing on the internet?**

**I wonder,**

**Sincerely Smiling,**

**Jam Jones**

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><p>The nurse was baffled. "<em>Another<em> one?"

The Chairman was much more sympathetic then the rest of the group. "I'm afraid so," he said, placing Allura down on the cot. "Her hand's in need or a little work, but I think that's the worst of it. How are the others?"

"Perfectly fine."

The Chairman stiffened. "W…What?"

"They're all fine!" the nurse cried. "Not a scratch, though the lot of them are covered in blood! I don't understand what's going on, but this isn't natural. When the first one came in, I _saw_ the scratches. Now they're just…gone."

"Gone?" The Chairman repeated in awe.

"Are these students…like the other students?" the nurse asked quietly, looking from Rima to Shiki to Yuki, her eyes lingering on Yuki. There was an ugly twist to her face, like a sneer. "Or did the other students do this to them?"

"This is something else entirely, I assure you," Chairman Cross said quickly. "Please…would you give me a few moments alone with my…Guardians?"

"All of them? Guardians?" the nurse nearly cried in shock.

The rest of the room was still. Sayori looked down at Allura. Sure, she had helped the situation before. But was she worthy of such a job as Yuki and Zero's? Rima and Shiki were the same. They had been at the wrong place at the wrong time, making them heroes but also involuntary. None of them had wanted this.

"There will be another as well," Chairman Cross went on. "For now, all we can do is keep this matter within us."

The nurse, though the hatred was in her eyes, surrendered and did as asked. She gave Yuki once last glare before exiting, muttering something like a curse under her breath.

"Pleasant woman," Rima said.

"Yes, quite," the Chairman agreed. "She's a bit superstitious, and living among the enemy in such close quarters doesn't help. Unfortunately, I'm the only one to hire her. That's why I try to _avoid_ this area."

"Chairman," Yuki cut in. "You still owe us an explanation."

"Right." The Chairman walked over to the nurse's desk. "Just…give me a few moments, okay? You'll very likely understand without a word."

Picking up the phone from the corner of her desk, he dialed what sounded like a nineteen-digit number from the low-pitched beeps that followed the dialing.

"That's not a real number, Chairman," Rima said.

"Just let me dial, will you?" the Chairman snapped. "It's a really long area code!"

"Where on Earth could have such an area code?" Rima shouted back.

"Shh!" Sayori put her finger to her lips. "There are people sleeping!"

The Chairman looked to the twelve children sleeping soundly around them. They all looked overly pale and like they were in pain. Even Allura had a restless look on her face, as if she were running inside a nightmare.

"Just…trust me." He hit dial. "This will only take a few moments."

There was the sound of ringing and then a feminine voice on the other end of the line. An _actual_ voice, from a nineteen-digit number. It was hysterical, confused, and a little angry—but the Chairman let it rant for a few moments before speaking.

"Heloise? It's me, Cross."

There was a long pause, followed by a much calmer tone from the voice.

"Yes, I'm aware. I have twelve of them _here_." Another pause, with more speaking from the person on the other end. "Most of them are somehow. I suspect it won't be long before they're awake and demanding answers."

This time, nobody could hear anything from the other end. And then, as if it had switched to speaker phone, they could hear her voice:

"I'm coming."

The Chairman was thrown. "What do you mean, 'coming'? You can't _come_ here, Heloise. Your grandmother will murder you! The Bureau will have a field day!"

"Just shut up and hold the phone away from your ear!"

"Wait…what?"

"Just hold the phone away from your ear, even if you can't shut up!"

And then the phone began to glow. It was a purple glow, like something out of a movie. Sayori moved to cover Allura as the Chairman held the phone out, towards the empty space between him and Yuki.

"I can't believe you're doing this!" the Chairman complained.

There was a flash of light and then there she stood, the girl from the phone.

"Yeah, well, neither can I." She snapped her cell phone shut, brushing her angel-like blonde hair back and away from her face. "Oh, wow." She took a look at the people around her. "Four vampires, a human, and an ex-hunter. I'm quite outnumbered, even with twelve sleeping brothers and sisters."

The whole room flinched as they all noticed the color of her eyes—a dark violet, inhuman, but not vampire. Something about them made Shiki sick to his stomach. Yuki backed away from the girl that had materialized in front of her.

"Yikes, you smell pureblood-fresh!" Heloise backed away from Yuki. "I wouldn't try nom-nom-nom-ing on me! You'd kill us both, girl!"

Yuki looked at the Chairman and then back to Heloise in confusion. "What are you talking about? Who are you? How do you know my…father?"

"Father?" Heloise's eyebrows rose. She looked back at the Chairman. "When did _you_ get busy, Mr. I'm-never-settling-down? You certainly didn't have a Brady bunch when I was around."

The Chairman coughed uncomfortably. "Adopted."

"Oh!" Heloise's eyes lit up. "They let you, a _known_ killer, have a child? Good lord, this world is truly falling to ruin! I know what you killed is considered evil, but still, you're kind of a public menace now that you're retired, aren'tcha?"

Zero rolled his eyes. "Who the hell are you, lady?"

The blonde girl looked pleased at his question. "Why, I'm Heloise Aaru. I'm related to dear Granny Rowan Aaru, the very witch who started this mess!"

The Chairman smacked his forehead with his hand. "You didn't have to mention that."

Yuki was already all over it. "You know…whose responsible for all this? Were you part of putting so many lives in danger? Did you know these are children, who in no way need to be pulled into such a world-wait, did you say _witch_?"

"Purebloods," Heloise scoffed. "You think so highly of yourself, being the top of your private food chain. Little do you know" she smiled, showing razor-sharp teeth, "that there's actually a whole species above you."

Everyone backed away. Everyone, that is, except the Chairman.

"Heloise, you're _frightening_ them." He warned.

"Right, right," Heloise clapped her hands together. "I'm what's considered a Good Witch! I grant wishes and show up to give skanky Cinderella her stupid dress for the ball, and then, for the hell of it, I'll give her a chariot made out of a pumpkin!"

The room was quiet.

"Seriously?" Shiki asked.

"No way in hell," Heloise waltzed over to the desk and plopped down in the nurse's chair. "The term 'Good Witch' doesn't correctly describe what I am. I'm a…traitor, I guess you could say."

The Chairman coughed, "Clarify."

"I don't eat meat."

Again, everyone took a step back. For Shiki and Rima, they took two.

"Now, now, let's not have anyone get too excited, okay?" Heloise leaned back and put her feet on the desk. "I was born human, an unknown witch. I grew up not eating people. When my granny got all up in my face, showing me all this spells and shit, I was all over it…until she handed me a homemade manburger and I puked my guts up. Disgusting taste, men. She even forced me to try a vampiburger. Even worse. The meat was clearly cooked, steaming and fresh, but all I tasted was a cold chill, along with the same juicy aftertaste of the manburger. After that, I was pretty much done eating people."

Zero shifted. "Pretty much?"

Heloise snorted. "From time to time, a few of my friends will dish up a few to try it. I tell them hell no, they sneak it because they don't want to eat the stuff alone. That's why I don't go to Witch Parties at the Bureau. You never know if they spike the punch with blood. It's really disgusting…you can't tell the difference between punch and blood when it's been—"

"STOP!"

Sayori was holding her chest and trying not to heave. There was a silence as she stood up, facing Heloise. Her face was red, almost like she was embarrassed, but she looked uncomfortable, not embarrassed.

"Please don't tell me about eating people," she looked down and touched Allura's hand. "Just…tell me what's wrong with my friend!"

Heloise smiled. "There really needs to be more people like you, kid." She got up out of her chair and walked over to pat Sayori's head. "Your friend—and these other children—are what my kind calls 'brothers' and 'sisters.' They're witches. I suspect, like me, they won't eat people, growing up the way they have…but my grandmother is trying to raise an army. A cold-blooded, merciless army, that will rearrange the food chain. She'll come for them, and she will try to recruit them. That's why I'm here. To teach them what's right and wrong, and to give them the option to chose between the two before she arrives."

Sayori looked relieved. "Thank you."

"Honestly? I'm not doing it for them." She studied Allura's face. "I'm doing this for myself. For revenge. I don't want them to experience what I did—any of them."

Sayori's eyes widened. "Revenge?"

"My grandmother is looking for someone called the Alice Witch." Heloise brushed Allura's hair away from her face. "When a witch matures into an adult, they undergo a change. A crystal forms inside their palm and a name prints itself on their stomach. Usually, this doesn't happen to an unknown witch. There are only certain circumstances, like being the reincarnation of the Alice Witch, that lead to such an early maturing. It did to me. Unfortunately, that led my grandmother to believe I was such a witch when I was not."

A tear fell from Heloise's cheek. It landed on Allura's face, sending a surge of purple light across her skin.

"What…was that?" Sayori asked.

"An acknowledgement," Heloise said quietly. "Alice knows I'm here."

"A-Alice?" Sayori repeated.

Heloise covered her mouth with one hand and let her other fall to the edge of Allura's nightgown. Drawing a purple line with her finger, she pulled it apart and exposed Allura's bellybutton. Written in a exotic language was a printed name, with two parts.

"'Alice Witch,'" Heloise read. "I actually found her before Granny."

Yuki stepped forward. "What does the Alice Witch do?"

"She's a container for an extensive amount of power, handed down by the generations. Each time, the power doubles. The witch is randomly picked, gifted, and then treated like a princess or a pawn—depending on who finds her first." Heloise pulled the nightgown back up and sealed the gap with her finger. "I'm afraid her existence will put this academy in much more danger then before." Heloise looked to the Chairman. "The Alice Witch usually awakens twelve other unknown witches to the world. There are only eleven here. We're missing one, on a joint Academy with vampires."

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><p><strong>BEST. CHAPTER. YET! I love how Heloise refers to them as "manburgers" and "vampiburgers." She's by far my favorite made-up character, since she's much more real and angry and sarcastic. She means well, but she often lets her ego and pride go on and on. It annoys the hell out of people and can get a little scary. She's got a sad history, but she's making up for it with sweet, sweet revenge. She doesn't take shit from anyone-especially her Granny!<strong>


	4. Chapter 4  Let There Be Blood

Kaname whipped the door off its hinges. He stormed through the front hall, sending earthquake trembles up the walls and shattering every window he passed. Screeching to his right, he went for the china and started ripping it off the wall, throwing it in every direction. Pieces skittered across the floor. Breaks in the wall opened, making the house shudder.

When he ran out of china, he went for the table. He thrust down with his fist, collapsing all four legs at once. It fell to the floor in one hit. This only made him angrier.

Spinning to face the wall, he punched through it. Again. Again. Blood poured from his knuckles, but the witch's face was still in his head. Frozen. Stuck. The twisted smile on her face, making him regret everything he had put off, hoping he'd never have to come face-to-face with.

_She_ was back.

Rowan Aaru.

Just the name sent him back into a frenzy. He punch harder, ripping the plaster from the walls and sending the whole thing tumbling to the ground.

"Kaname!"

The voice made him freeze. His anger slowly washed away, replaced by his natural clear-thinking. He was standing in a house. _Not_ his house. This was someone else's home, someone else's property, and someone else's wall.

He looked up. Reality clicked on. "Ruka?"

"Yes," her whole face lightened with relief. "Yes, it's me. Ruka."

Next to her was Aido. His whole face had gone blank, inspecting the damage Kaname had just done to his family's house. It wasn't their first house, but it was one of his favorites. It was one close to the Academy.

"I'm…sorry," he said. "I didn't mean…"

"It's alright!" Ruka began to sob. "We're just glad you're alright! Kaname, where did you go? Everyone realized you were gone and went into a panic!"

"I went to meet someone."

"'Someone?'" Aido repeated numbly.

"An old…friend," he cringed at the word.

"Kaname, what aren't you telling us?" Ruka asked. "I've never seen you so angry. What happened to you?"

Kaname thought about what to say. Could he tell them the truth? Would they even believe it? Worst of all, would they turn on him after hearing it? He shook off the possibility. Double-crossing wasn't normally in his nature. It did occur every so often, but only when dealing with pawns and when it secured the common good.

"Has the school contacted you?" he asked.

Aido said, "Yes, the Chairman himself. Seiren said he warned her you had some explaining to do. And…that Yuki's safe. He said you'd want to hear that, most of all."

Kaname didn't dare do as much as blink. "That's good. That means nothing drastic has happened at the Academy. At least, not yet. I'm sure that crazy old man will have a few of his own sources and allies besides us."

Ruka looked shocked. "_Besides_ us?"

"A war has started," Kaname said. "And one of the first thing to be targeted will no doubt be the Academy."

Both vampires were shocked. They simply stared at him in horror. The Academy was home to some of the next generations' finest, children of the current generation. If it were attacked, their would be a great many holes in the Council's system.

"What do we do?" Aido asked.

"I need to talk to Kain," he said. "Where is he?"

Again, their faces went blank. Ruka recoiled in shock. Kaname felt his heart sink when Aido's eyes glassed over. This was never a good sign.

"Where is he?" Kaname demanded.

"He wasn't…there?" Ruka squeaked.

Kaname whipped his head around to look at her. "Where?"

"He said he was meeting you," Aido said, making Kaname turn again. "There was some sort of…message. He wouldn't let us see. According to Kain, you were in some sort of trouble. Seiren went with. Neither of them have contacted us since."

Fury bubbled up inside of Kaname. "So we have no idea where they are?" he shrieked.

"No," Ichijo stood in the doorway. "Not quite."

The three of them turned to face him. His face wasn't the usual light-hearted vampire, but a more sad, betrayed, desperate-eyed survivor. Blood covered his arms and most of his white dress shirt. His sword was sheathed, but blood still trickled down the edges.

"What the hell happened?" Aido blurted out.

Kaname felt composure flood over him as Ichijo faced him directly. His eyes held the same fury Kaname felt inside. There was something else, too. Something Kaname deserved.

Hatred.

"Where is Kain?" Ruka shrieked.

Kaname said, much more calmly, "And Seiren?"

Ichijo's eyes narrowed at Kaname. "Come see for yourself."

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><p>To the human eye, the street corner probably looked like an ordinary crime scene. A few policemen to keep the perimeter, someone to inspect the damage, and a doctor—but in reality, it was a set of guards, a vampire doctor, and a council representative with the same tight-lipped answers and annoying attitude as a normal human government agent.<p>

"About time you showed up!" the representative spat angrily. "I want to wrap this up already! Where are my answers?"

Ichijo flashed him a warning glare. "You can ask him anything you want after he sees Kain."

The representative was appalled. "What do you thinking you're doing, Takuma? We've gotten all we need from Kain. Leave the poor man be!"

Ichijo didn't even flinch. He stalked right on past, through the crowd of people. Behind him followed Kaname, Ruka, and Aido. Kaname kept his face still, not wanting to show weakness. Aido tried to mimic it, but Ruka was still in tears, which was beginning to ware him down bit by bit.

"Kain!" Ichijo called. "I brought Kaname!"

Ruka ran ahead. It took Kaname a few moments to register what she was doing, but by that time, it was much too late for him to stop her.

Kaname knew exactly what to expect.

Ruka didn't.

She fell to her knees next to Kain, his broken body a nightmare to her eyes. Tears began to flow so quickly she was almost blind as he smiled up at her, almost as if this were all alright, but it was clear it wasn't.

"What happened to you?" she whispered.

"We were ambushed," Kain explained. Kaname froze in his steps, Aido next to him. "Three of them. At first, we didn't understand. There was just one. She looked innocent, smelling like a human." He laughed bitterly at the memory. "A thirteen-year-old girl, can you imagine? I didn't think much of it. Seiren even relaxed a bit. That was our downfall."

He stopped and coughed, spewing blood from his mouth. It was choked—the blood flowed like a river, and when he coughed, it seeped into Ruka's dress. She choked back sobs as he looked disgusted.

"Sorry about that. I can't seem to stop." He wiped the blood from his mouth. "As I was saying, we showed up looking for Kaname. Seiren reacted first, which got her…fried." He closed his eyes. The horror seemed to come and pass with the memory, making him shake a little. "I honestly tried to run. This wasn't…good. I had to tell somebody. Apparently, they had plans of their own."

Kain opened his eyes and held up his right arm. Folded in his hand was a white envelope, now soaked with blood. The seal was popped open, but Kaname didn't care. He bent down and took it with both hands, opening it and sliding out the parchment from inside. It wasn't even a whole sheet of paper. Just a tiny, ripped piece of something else.

_In case you thought you were any different, Kaname. Now you know. You're not, never will be, and I will kill you if you try anything differently. You're a coward._

It was her handwriting. Rowan's. After leaving him, she had arrived here to take care of Kain and Seiren. Her final message before going to her victory party.

"Know the bitch who did this?" Kain asked.

"I'm afraid so," was his answer.

"Well, take care of her for me, won't ya?" Kain cringed, blood dripping down his lip. "Since I won't be…you know…"

"What are you saying?" Ruka sobbed. "You're going to be fine! Fine! Do you hear me? Fine!"

Kaname stood up. "Aido, get Ruka off of Kain."

Aido hesitated. The edges of Kain's body began to blur. His whole image seemed shaky, as if he weren't even there. Ruka tried to throw herself at him, but only screamed in pain. The more she tried to hold him, the harsher the burns became against her skin.

It was Ichijo who eventually pulled her off of Kain.

With one last tilt of his head, Kain gave Ichijo a grateful smile. "Thank you," he said. "I owe you one."

And his whole body was swallowed in agony. Inhuman screams flew out of his mouth faster then he could stop them. The burns across his skin swallowed the surface, releasing blood onto the ground. It turned purple, swallowing his skin and features. Bubbling over, it melted him down and then dissolved into the air, breaking into millions of pieces of purple dust and then vanishing.

It was as if Kain had never been there. The evidence of his existence, of his death, were just gone. There was nothing left.

"Kain," Ruka choked, holding herself.

Aido didn't move. He just stared straight ahead, at where Kain had once been, as if he didn't believe what had just happened. Ichijo looked pained, but he had clearly seen it a few times tonight.

"We need to find the syringe," Kaname said.

All three looked up at him shock.

"They wouldn't leave without giving us more, in case he died before we arrived. We need to find the syringe they injected the blood into him with."

Aido's eyes flashed red with anger. "Who? Who injected him?"

It was Ichijo who answered this time. "The Witches," he said, helping Ruka to her feet. "They're blood is lethal to vampires. Since they wanted Kaname to see Kain die, they injected him rather then letting him take it from the source. He was granted mercy, that's for sure. I've seen others take it from the source—the pain is at least a thousand times worse."

Ruka's eyes widened. "Worse then _that_?" she cried. "Worse then what Kain had to experience?"

"Much worse," Kaname replied. "This is only the beginning. More then half of the deaths tonight were by accident. The rest were acts of murder, or rebellion, or cries of war."

Ichijo blinked. "War?"

"More then a thousand years ago, witches and vampires were in an endless war with humans. It carried on and on, going under for some time, and then rising to the surface again. Witches usually don't rise in numbers, but they've gained order. Four hundred years ago, they elected a leader."

"The person you went to meet," Aido guessed.

Kaname nodded. "She warned me their time was coming. Once they have their weapon of mass destruction, they will eliminate the human race and the vampires will become the prey."

Aido looked at him in disbelief. "What weapon? Why didn't they have a leader before four hundred years ago? Why are they angry with us, if we used to ally ourselves with them?"

Dread fell over Kaname. The remembrance of four hundred years ago. Of Rowan. And of Alice. Especially of Alice.

"We tried to wipe them out. They double-crossed us and tried to eliminate the entire human race, which would make us their primary food source." Kaname looked to Ichijo. "Unfortunately, there were a few witches who didn't agree with this choice of actions. Witches that aligned themselves with vampires. They stood against their leader, with the weapon, and fought back. They almost didn't succeed, but using the weapon, they managed to put every bad witch in existence into a deep, deep sleep—one closely seen as death. The neutral party was kept awake, along with those who sided with those who stood against the bad witches. Over time, both parties have dwindled down to only a few members, known as the Bureau."

Aido clenched his hands into fists. "What on Earth is this weapon, Kaname? What could do that, or eliminate an entire race so quickly that we almost couldn't stop it?"

There was a giggle from behind Kaname. He turned to see a shadow figure about Yuki's height standing across the street from them, dressed in all black with an oddly fitted top-hat, pulled over her eyes. It mostly covered her sea-green hair, but a few strands fell loosely down her neck and shoulders.

"A girl." The figure said. "A human girl, turned witch. The so-called Alice Witch."

Kaname recoiled. "Perry?"

The three vampires looked at Kaname in shock. He didn't even seem to realize they were looking at him as he took a step towards the girl uncontrollably.

Using a gloved hand, the girl tipped her top hat up to unveil a pair of magenta eyes. They weren't the same violet eyes Rowan had. They were tamer, much more unnatural, almost wrong. They were half-human.

"It's good to see you again, Kaname," Perry said.

"What are you doing here?" he whispered.

Perry wiped tears away from her eyes. "I came to die."

This wasn't expected. Kaname's whole face fell. Overhead, the sky began to sour. It wasn't green—but more of an angry blue. It sent a chorus of lightning rippling through the sky, shaking the ground they stood on as the thunder followed.

"Why?" was all he asked.

"Because, Kaname, I'm not Alice anymore."

There was a sudden burst of energy in the air. Time slowed down. A current of fire-hot, blue energy burst through the sky, weaved together, and then showered down onto the street. All the light went out at once, casting shadows of neon blue light across the town.

Standing in the center of it all was Perry.

She gave Kaname one last tip of her hat, smiled, and dissolved into a thousand glimpses of blue light.

The Alice Witch had been reborn.

* * *

><p><strong>DUN DUN DUN DUN! What will happen now? Kain's no longer in the picture, Ruka. You no longer have a Plan B if your thing with Kaname doesn't work out. I bet you're feeling bad for treating him like garbage now, huh? Well, yeah, you meanie head! Oh, well. Sorry about Seiren. She was kind of accidental. It was supposed to be Aido, but I decided he'd be needed later for some sort of Comic Relief. Seiren was sadly no longer needed. After all, her part is so...minor. I'm sure there's a background story SOMEWHERE, but for right now, Seiren's not in Kaname's story. I personally feel bad for Perry. After four hundred years, she finally sees Kaname again, and hell, she dies! That sucks! I'd say more, but that's next chapter, unfortunately. Other then that, Ichijo's kind of...well, pissed. He went through hell to get to Kain, and then, well, died. I'm warning you all, he's a changed man. This may not be good later on, so if you're fans...OOPSIE.<strong>

**Sincerely Smiling,**

**Jam Jones**


	5. Chapter 5  When Danger Calls

**And so it begins! The true fight inside this story, now that all our players are in and ready for whatever the hell is going to happen :)**

* * *

><p>Allura's body jerked upright. A painful gasp broke the silence in the room and her eyes snapped open, seeing the world as a shimmering rainbow of exagerated colors. It was like her vision had been beautifully painted—which was sad, since what she saw was the Nurse's Office, the beds filled two to a bed, with a bunch of tired-eyed, desperate-looking students hanging around.<p>

One Allura didn't recognize, with the most beautiful hay-colored blonde hair bent down next to her. With grace, she shifted one hand behind Allura's back and the other to her hand. As she touched it, pain exploded through Allura's arm.

"Honey," the girl said. "Honey, stay with us. What did you see?"

Allura couldn't think, let alone speak. Yet, she felt her lips move. "Gar…den," the word felt like water running over her lips. It was weird and unknown, an uncomfortable feeling that Allura didn't like. "Last…witch. Two vampires. Save…Sennett."

Air seemed to leave Allura. She felt her chest cave in, as if a vaccuming were stealing it all away. Heloise let her arm fall back and slam against Allura's palm, sending waves of purple across her skin.

_How…do I know her name?_

Allura didn't understand. As her mind slowed down, the waves of light against her skin began to feel nice. Her lips parted and air sucked in, letting her breath normally. The girl with beautiful hair—Heloise Aaru—looked her right in the eyes.

"I don't want you to speak, understand? Focus solely on breathing." She commanded. Allura nodded. Then, with an uncertain nod, Heloise looked back to Yuki. "Did what she say mean anything to you? It was clearly about the missing witch child, possibly two endangered vampires, but…who is Sennett and where is this garden?"

Yuki didn't know what to say. She was still reeling in shock at what had just happened. Instead, Sayori spoke up.

"Sennett is…Allura's boyfriend."

Heloise flinched. "Don't tell me…Sennett's a vampire?"

Chairman Cross looked at Allura in shock. Zero and Yuki took a step away from Sayori, who was hanging her head in shame as Yuki gave her a look of disbelief and betrayal. Heloise took this as a yes. Sighing, she touched Sayori's cheek.

"It's not your fault. From what I understand, you're kind of an exhange for both sides, correct? Yuki is your friend. Allura is no different. You owe them both, but you don't owe them answers about one another. You got involved with Sennet and Allura by mistake, but you were in no way there for the beginning, were you?"

Sayori nodded.

On the cot, Allura tried to put her mind back together. When she tried to think of the name, images formed. A boy. With teeth. Sharp, sharp teeth. A vampire? Did those exist? She tried to think harder, and as she did, she saw exactly what her mouth had said when her mind had been blank.

"We have to help them!" she cried. "Sennett's going after Anna! They're both going…going to…."

"Sh, hey, leave it to us," Heloise said, trying to reach for her.

"NO!" Allura slapped her hand away. "You're just standing here! You can't let Sennett die! I don't care what kind of a monster he thinks he is!"

Something happened. None of them realized it until too late. Gold light struck into the air, sending everyone backward. Heloise flew into Sayori. Zero grabbed hold of Yuki as they flew backward, Chairman Cross ducking behind a desk. The cots parted, sending Shiki and Rima a whirlwind of papers.

They were blind to what Allura saw.

Before her had formed a straight path to the door. The door gently swung open, inviting her out into the night. Time seemed to slow as she sat up, watching everyone struggle with the vicious wind batting against them. Part of her felt guilty, but she had to help Sennett. Holding her injured hand close, she walked outside.

Night air felt different. It gave her adreniline. As she walked, she felt power in every step. The moon seemed to call her. A part of her soul seemed to break off and run wild between the trees around her. It was like a barrier. Outside her magical barrier was dead zone. It wasn't special out there.

But, at the very end of her barrier, stood a person. As Allura got closer, she saw the figure was a girl. A beautiful girl, like Heloise, with angel-like blonde hair and the most interesting violet eyes. Something about her seemed ancient, old, aging—while her body was timeless, flowing gently against the wind of Allura's barrier, but with the grace of Heloise and the power of the night.

The girl didn't speak. Instead, she held up her arm. Following it, Allura saw she was pointing down an alleyway beside a dorm, leading to the garden.

Sennett.

Allura turned to tell the figure thank-you, but she was already gone. Understanding that time had sped up again, Allura sprinted off down the alleyway. Something told her to be quiet, but all she wanted to do was scream for Sennett.

_Please don't let him be hurt._

* * *

><p>"Anna, we're too close to the Day Class dorms!" Sennett warned her.<p>

"Something's over here," Anna insisted. She looked through the brush and trees to find a girl. A tinier girl, with heavy spectales and a large book. She had collapsed on a bench hidden between two trees, a long ways from campus. Something about her made Anna's blood run cold. "It's a girl. I think she might be hurt."

"Then we should go get a Guardian!" Sennett complained. "Moving her ourselves could get us in trouble, no matter what our intentions were!"

Anna shook her head. "I don't smell any blood, Sen. I think she's sick. Really sick. The poor thing…what do you think she was doing out here?"

Anna moved closer, careful not to draw attention to the dorm windows that overlooked this small spot. Sennett was even more cautious, taking his time rather then speeding to avoid attention. As they drew closer, Anna felt her blood spiking.

"I don't think we should go any closer," Sennett whined. That was so unlike him. He was usually so brave, not cautious. Why was he scared of a human?

"Don't spoil the fun, Sen," Anna felt her lips curl into a smile. Something had snapped inside her. She leaned down, taking in a long breath. "My god, Sen! Without any blood spilled, she smells delicious…"

"Anna!" Sennett wailed. "We're not supposed to drink human blood! Kaname told us that! Yuki told us that! You should have some sort of control, don't you? Leave her alone! Come back, Anna! We'll call someone else to help her!"

Want overtook Anna. Sennett's calls became useless background noise. Drawing the girl's neck closer, she let her fangs extend. Cruel animal thoughts filled her mind. She missed blood. Real blood. Human blood. So what if she was disgraceful? That's what she was. A hunter. Why deny the beast?

Letting the girl's sweet aroma fill her nose, Anna bit in.

"NOOOOOO!"

* * *

><p>Allura was too late. She leaped for Sennett, taking him to the ground before he could try to help Anna. All her instincts told her to pull him away, so she did. She dragged and dragged, struggling agaisnt his numb body. He was frozen in shock, watching as Anna began to screech in agony.<p>

It was the most horrifying thing Allura had ever seen. The blood burned down Anna's esofagus, disolving it wide open. It fell down her chest, burning its way out and through her skin. It fell to her stomach, making her insides a messy soup of acid. It swallowed everything in its path, burning and disolving. The last thing to go was Anna's face, but by then, the screams had long since ceased.

All they could do was hold one another. Tears fell down both their cheeks, Sennett's falling onto Allura's arm and Allura's falling into Sennett's curly blonde hair. She held him closer, praying silently that the image would fade. The horror just bubbled up inside her, thinking of what had happened to Anna. It just showed over and over again in her mind, making the tears sting like fire against her cold cheeks.

"It's my fault," Sennett whispered. "I should have stopped her."

"No," Allura cried. "No, it's not your fault!"

"I should have…something…"

"No!" Allura insisted. "You didn't know!"

Sennett was silent. "Allura…" he whispered. "How did you know? How did you stop me? You knew where I was…Allura, your dorm is on the other side of the campus…"

Allura choked. The power she felt. The different world she now saw. It wasn't Sennett's world. It wasn't her old world. It was something completely new, something completely unexplainable.

"I'm like her, Sennett," she felt shame at her words. They were true, she knew. Everything seemed to answer itself for her, but she didn't understand it at all. Sennett pulled away to look at her face. "I think I'm a murderer."

"No," Sennett shook his head. He tried to hug her. "You're not a murderer, Al. You're a big baby. You couldn't kill a bug."

"But you did almost kill Shiki," Rima said sarcastically.

Sennett looked up in shock. Allura turned with him. Standing above them was Rima, Shiki, Yuki, Zero, Cross, Heloise, and Sayori. Sayori fell down next to Allura, grabbing her and Sennett in a tight hug.

"Don't do that, Allura!" Sayori cried. "You had me scared! I didn't know what happened to you! Please, trust us!"

Heloise stood behind Sayori. Her violet eyes looked pained and sad, staring at Allura and Sennett. The more Allura looked at her, she felt the intensity of the woman with the same angel-like hair. Were they related? Heloise hadn't seen her before, had she?

"I made that wind, didn't I?" Allura said. "And…I almost hurt Shiki? It was me, wasn't it? I'm horrible?"

Heloise shook her head and bent down in front of Allura. She took both of Allura's hands and a single tear streaked down her own cheek. "No," she said, a sad smile toying at her lips. "You're not something horrible. You're something absolutely wonderful. A gift. It's true that vampires can't drink our blood, but…" she looked at Sennett. "I think you'll find this to be interesting."

Allura stared at her in confusion.

"We're witches. You, me, and that girl over there. We know that. Anna didn't. It was an accident. Both of you should realize that. Anna had no idea what she was doing towards the end, she wanted the blood so badly."

Allura pulled away from Sennett. "Then I could hurt Sennett!"

Heloise held onto her hands. "No, you can't. Other witches could, if you're not careful. But not you. You're special."

Allura's eyes got huge. "W-Witch?" She looked at Sennett. "You never said anything about witches."

Sennett shook his head furiously. "I don't know anything about witches!" he protested. "Honest, or I would have told you! How could I have hidden it?"

"Believe him," Heloise urged her. "He didn't know. Trust me, Allura. Nobody knew. The Beaurea is quite a well-kept secret. We do it to ensure our existance. Right now, we're weak. The strongest witches in existance are as follows: me, my grandmother, and you. It's not exactly measurable on whose the strongest between me and my grandmother, but you surpass us by far."

Allura's mouth dropped open. Her whole body tensed, Sennett's hand on her shoulder, Sayori's hand held against her arms, and Allura's hands in Heloise's hands. As they spoke, a small light began to pulse out from Allura's palm.

Without the greatest care, Heloise tilted Allura's hands up and overs, so the back of her hands were palm-up. For the first time, Allura studied the star carved into her skin. Sennett gasped in shock, reaching to touch it. As his hand got closer, the golden light got brighter. Caution won over. He let his hand fall back to her wrist.

"Inside your palm is a star stone," Heloise explained. "Only mature witches grow one. They are like a source of energy for what we do. They cast off patterns, which form spells. Depending on what color your patterns are determines how strong your spells are. There's a pyramid to explain it. On the bottom, in the biggest area, is white. Those spells are undetermined, unmatured witches who may or may not mature. Next is colored, matured witches with average or so strength. Next is silver. Silver is rare, but not uncommon. It's usually a sign of a very strong witch."

Using her pointer finger, Heloise drew a symbol over Allura's palm. The light brightened, turning a solid gold. "And, lastly, at the top of the pyramid, rarer then rare, are the golds. We, the golds, have the ability to hide our color status behind another color if we so choose, but usually, gold is a sign of great strength."

Allura could hear her heart pounding in her ears. The gold light made Heloise's features glow. She didn't have the same face as the woman, but she was just as beautiful. Blood-related, she was sure. That's what they were strong.

"Am I related to you?" Allura asked.

"No," Heloise said. She wasn't surprised by the question. "I take it you've already seen Alice, then?"

"Alice?" Allura repeated.

"The missing part of my grandmother's soul," Heloise didn't look up from Allura's palm. "Her body and mind are damaged. When she felt that that her gift would be misused, she transferred a piece of her soul, called 'Alice' off to another."

_I'm a piece of Heloise's grandmother? _Allura blinked in shock. _But how does that protect Sennett? And how does this make me so powerful?_

"Why…why am I like this?" she asked.

"My grandmother lost her soul over a century ago. She went crazy. She started this bloodlust for power in witches. For years, she tried to exterminate the human race, attempting to rid the world of the one thing that could stop her rampage." Heloise looked up. Her violet eyes sparkled. "She tried to get rid of Alice. Every lifetime, Alice manifests herself inside a human girl who has stepped over the line." Heloise glanced over at Sennett, who blushed. "That makes you a pretty worthy Alice holder. You understand that the world needs to be changed, so that all three of us can live in the peace we deserve. Co-existance. Not fear."

Allura leaned into Sennett. "Not fear."

Sennett kissed her forehead.

"She's going to come for you, Allura," Heloise said. "My grandmother will try to come and either win you over or simply kill you. Along with the twelve others, she will try to seduce you into the dark. I came to inform you. I cannot make the choice for you, but I will teach you. You, as the Alice Witch, will lead whatever side you choose in this war."

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry for the late update! I was pretty...well, I guess we're all pretty much the same. School. Homework. The whole shibang. It's pretty awful already. I'm two weeks in and already trying to plan my next summer. Which, by the way, concerns you, Peyton, if you're reading this. Anyway, I'm really excited for the next chapter. I LOVE Allura and Sennett, but I'm warning you, to me, they're pretty oppisite-ShikiRima. They're a couple, but yeah, they're a pretty big couple. I love them all! Except Aido. I kind of just want to kill him. Sadly, like the dopey puppy he is, I can't. It frustrates me so :(**

**Oh well :)**

**Sincerely Smiling,**

**Jam Jones**


	6. Chapter 6 Death to the Witch

"Kaname!" Ruka's voice made him freeze. Turning around, he saw her standing awkwardly in the street, half-covered by her coat, half-frozen in her own fear. "What is happening? Why is this happening? Of all the people, why is it happening to you?"

Guilt crossed his mind, but he remained expressionless. Kaname's mind was in shambles. Perry was dead. After nearly five-hundred years, after not seeing her for nearly four-hundred years, she had died before his very eyes.

Rowan had been playing him all along. Kain hadn't been her target at all. This had been all about Perry. Seeing her die had given him the final push he needed: he would find the Alice Witch. No matter what, he would find her and kill her with his own hands.

"It's not important," he said gruffly. "We need to get to the Academy."

"The Academy?" Aido repeated. "What's happening at the Academy? That's the second time you've brought it up."

Ichijo looked from Kaname to Aido. "Haven't you heard?" he asked. "This isn't just Kain, Aido. All over the city—all over the _world_—people are waking up to find themselves living with monsters. It isn't random; they're carefully placed within society. I bet the Academy's flooded, isn't it, Kaname?"

They all looked to him for some sign of order.

"Carefully placed, yes…but not for mass-destruction," he said. "These witches that are waking up are either newly-found or were put to sleep at the turn of the war. The murderous ones are seeking the newly-found ones out, trying to turn them. If a few vampires get in the way, the witch disposes of them. Simple and easy."

Ichijo frowned. "So what happens to the vampires who bite the witches? Are they just part of the plan?"

"I don't know the plan, if that's what you're thinking," Kaname spat. "If you've forgotten, I'm a pureblood vampire myself. This threat isn't limited to me—in fact, it concerns me most of all. A witch-invasion could diminish our chances of peace with the human race."

Ichijo shook his head in disbelief. Turning around, he smacked an officer on the back and motioned to the trucks. "We have better things to do," he said. "Where's the next one?"

The rest of the crowd began to file out. Some went to their trucks, others walked down the streets to the shadows, while others stood lost and confused, wondering who to follow. Ruka and Aido moved closer to Kaname, showing their allegiance. The rest simply floated away.

"What's happening at the Academy?" Ruka asked.

"Perry's death was a message," he said. "The Alice Witch—the pure source of witch power—has been reborn inside a human girl. That means the Alice soul will find itself a revolutionary host, someone brave and well-connected: someone who knows about vampires, humans, and maybe witches."

Aido stared at him in horror. "That could be someone at the Academy," he said dumbly.

"It could be any person at the Academy, if they were quiet enough about what they saw," Kaname snapped. "Which means another twelve witches will be born around the same time. They're called the Alice Keepers. By instinct, they find themselves in the same time and place as the Alice Host, whether they realize it or not."

Ruka pulled her coat closer. "How do you know all this?"

"I told you the witches had a leader, didn't I?" Kaname said. "Well…Rowan Aaru, one of the oldest and strongest witches in existence, was that leader. Before I joined the fight, she had already gone nuts. Somehow, she obtained a source of corrupted power and it corrupted her soul. To witches, the soul is sacred. Out of desperation, she separated her being into two parts—Rowan and Alice. While Rowan isn't exactly Rowan, she's Rowan's body—which makes the other witches follow her. Alice is the true Rowan, lost in time and seeking out a powerful and pure source to use as a host."

He stopped. "Well…I was involved with a human a while back…a lady of high-class at the time, a certain lady with a death wish that drove her to senselessly meddle in the affairs of the vampires. Taking pity on her wild soul, I befriended her and offered her the life of a vampire." Kaname shook his head. "I was much younger then, much more thoughtless and rash. She turned me down. At first, I couldn't believe it. And then, I noticed something. Her eyes." Perry's magenta eyes flashed before him, intense and glowing. "They weren't exactly purple, but…they had the witchy appearance. She had no idea who she was or who Alice was. All that mattered to her was the acceptance she felt standing next to a vampire rather than a human. I suspected—and then, when Rowan arrived, I was sure. Perry was the rumored Alice Witch the Bureau was searching for."

Aido shook his head. "Wasn't the Bureau newly-formed, of the so-called good witches and the neutral parties?"

Kaname thought back to the time of blood and war. "Back then, the Bureau—the _first_ Bureau—was made up of the Alice Keepers. They sought the Host out, rather than being born with her, and protected her that way. When Rowan got to Perry first, they rethought their process."

"Did Rowan succeed in stopping Perry?" asked Ruka.

Smiling, Kaname shook his head. "I wouldn't let her touch Perry. Even then, I was cocky. I sent that whole room packing. Perry helped, of course, but I admit, I did most of the work. Back then, the Rowan in Rowan's body couldn't fully control her powers. Now, I would not go into that fight and come back out alive."

Aido's lips moved, but no sound came out.

"The Keepers eventually caught up to us, told Perry who and what she was, and, with a little persuading from me, sided with the vampires before they could eliminate the entire human race," Kaname went on. "The battle raged on for about a year. If not for Perry, we would have lost in a matter of days."

Internal conflict flickered through Ruka's eyes. She seemed scared. Lowering her voice, she asked, "Were you and Perry…romantically involved?"

"That's another story, for another time," Aido said quickly. He locked eyes with Kaname. "If Perry was alive an hour ago, why hasn't she been around? Why have the witches stayed hidden?"

Kaname felt his fangs extend. Fury boiled in his blood. He knew smacking Aido wouldn't solve any problems, but the urge was still there. Gritting his teeth, he counted back from ten.

"We didn't exactly _win_," he managed. "To the Keepers we did, but if that were true, this mess wouldn't be happening now. Rowan was too powerful. When it came down to the final hour, it was Perry and Rowan. Nobody else could make it in." He fought back stale anger. "Perry only saw one way out. Using the link between them, she sealed Rowan's powers away—and then put herself to sleep in order to keep Rowan from stealing it back. The link was turned into a one-way street. Until the next Alice Witch was born and Perry awoke, Rowan would have nothing to fight with. While the other witches slept, she would roam the world alone, with the strength of a mere human."

Pity filled Ruka's eyes.

"So, even if you were romantically involved, Perry died that day." She said softly. "By sealing herself in an eternal sleep, she sacrificed herself. The only thing she could do was come and warn you."

Kaname gave her a slight nod.

"But why was she able to come here?" Aido asked. "Didn't she die?"

"Not exactly," Kaname looked over to the broken streetlamp Perry had stood under. "She simply woke up. After years of waiting, the new Alice Witch was born. When she died, her powers transferred. The immortality wore off. She was a four-hundred year old human. What we just saw was Rowan's half of the link. It swallowed her up."

A terrible way to die, Kaname couldn't help but think. Being swallowed by the one thing you fought to defeat. She had given her life to control Rowan and save the human race, but in return, she had received nothing. Not even a thank-you.

"It's not fair," Ruka whispered.

Kaname shook his head. "We need to go."

"I'll go get the car," Aido offered, taking off in the direction of his home. As he rounded the corner, the road turned to ice.

"He's scared," Kaname observed.

Ruka glanced in his direction. "Shouldn't he be?"

"No," Kaname shook his head. "This time we're going to kill the witch. Nobody gets to sleep it off."

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry about the late update! My computer is being jenk! I have to upload the document using my computer, and then, for some odd reason, publish it with my ipod. Anybody else having issues?<strong>

**Sincerely Smiling,**

**Jam Jones! :)**


	7. Chapter 7 Forming the Alliance

"Okay, I admit it, even when I imaged this, it wasn't nearly as awkward as this is," Heloise complained, studying the huge crowd in front of her. Allura and Sennett held the front, sitting on a cot, while the other twelve sat on their own, watching Heloise's every move. In the back along the wall, the Headmaster, Shiki, Rima, Yuki, Zero, and Sayori stood waiting. "Somebody has to say something," Heloise pleaded. "I just dropped a huge bombshell on you. Call me a liar, a moron, or something like that! I'm freaking out because I think I just broke reality!"

Someone raised their hand.

"Isn't that Kora?" Yuki whispered to Sayori.

Heloise gave Kora a look of relief. "Alright, you," she motioned to her. "Say whatever you want. Ask whatever you want."

Kora didn't even flinch as she said, "You realize we all remember the school-invasion that happened about a year ago, right?"

The room was silent.

Heloise begged the headmaster for some help with her eyes. Sighing, he moved to the front of the room.

"Heloise isn't a vampire. She isn't high enough in the Bureau to know about what happened here last year," he explained. "I guess you all knowing, realizing, and understanding what happened last year is a good sign. Do you also understand the reason the school is the way it is?"

This time, only half the heads bobbed.

"We're fighting for co-existence," he explained. "It must happen between vampires, humans, and, though it wasn't the intention when we started, witches, too. No matter what happens in the future, the thirteen of you will shape how the world deals with this war. Will you accept dominance, the role of the predator, turning you back on your friends and maybe family, or will you fight with us?"

Allura, her hand interlocked with Sennett's, glanced around the room. These were people she knew. Gail, an old friend; Alto and Blair, an older couple she admired; Halley, a cheerful girl who had no ill-intentions; Lee and Kora, twins and good friends; Dean, a little tempered but kind; Dara and Sean, a couple that had just started going out; Dean and Farley, two childhood friends that had helped Allura out once or twice; Daisy, a quiet, simple girl; and lastly, Flora, one of Allura's best friends.

Six boys and six girls, she realized, all of them having something to do with her life up until now—whether it was time of crisis or a time of loneliness, one of them had been present. Had they really unconsciously been doing a duty? That didn't seem right.

It was actually Flora who spoke up. "Are you stupid?"

The tension vanished in the room. In the back, the others looked to one another in confusion. The headmaster was even taken aback.

"I'm sorry?" he said.

Flora smiled. "I've known Allura forever, Headmaster Cross. Since the day I met her, I knew something was off…" she glanced her way, making Allura's cheeks go pink. "Just because I woke up with purple eyes and hers turned magenta doesn't make me hate her or anyone else. You said we eat people, but don't humans do that, too? It's cannibalism. You either decide to be a cannibal or you don't. I decide humanity."

The other eleven mumbled something that sounded much like agreement. Sitting on the nurse's desk, Heloise smiled shyly. Putting her hand over her mouth, she couldn't say a word.

"What's wrong?" Allura asked.

Heloise choked up. "I imagined this to be so much harder."

* * *

><p>"What do we tell the Night Class?" Yuki asked Cross. "The Day Class has to be told something, too. If what Heloise says about her grandmother targeting the Academy first is true, we have to do something!"<p>

"I agree," Heloise said. "You could get fried for this, old man. We've got three sides to a story. Only one has agreed to fight with us."

"Make it two."

The table turned around. Kaname, Ruka, and Aido stood in the doorway. Kaname looked furious, Ruka was a mess of mascara, and Aido had a blank expression. Allura rocked in her seat. She had never seen these three people up close before. They were intimidating and knowing what they were and what they could do sent shivers down her spine. Human instincts still gave her the urge to run away.

Sennett took her hand. "It's okay," he whispered. "Try not to show any expression, okay?"

Allura forced her face to go blank as their eyes wandered the table. The other twelve had gone off with one of Heloise's friends to learn simple things while Cross's so-called "Guardians" had stuck around to talk things through. In other words, she was a red spot on a wall of yellow. Kaname's eyes fell right to her, locking their gazes.

"You must be Alice?" he asked.

Allura coughed. "It would be better to refer to her by her name, Pureblood. She's got the soul, not the person."

Kaname was unfazed. "I apologize."

"Of course," Allura managed.

Under the table, Sennett's fingers curled into hers.

"Sennett!" Aido said in surprise. "What are you doing in here? The other Night Class students are back in the dorm—"

"Aido," Ruka cut him off.

"Yes, Ruka?"

"Remember when Kaname mentioned the Alice Witch having a connection to our life?"

Aido looked thoughtful, staring at Allura and then to Sennett. His eyes widened. "You aren't…Sennett's not…with Allura…"

"The first Alice Keepers called it the Host's partner," Kaname explained. "One vampire who can take the blood of the Alice Witch without consequence—the partner cannot take the blood of any other witch, the same as any other vampire, but when it comes to the Alice Witch, they may."

Heloise smiled. "The reasons for why this occurs are unknown," she added. "But a few…er, let's say _odd_, rumors float around now and then."

Rima's nose wrinkled. "Disgusting."

Sennett raised his hand. "I'd rather not have this conversation."

"Ditto," Zero mumbled.

Allura leaned into Sennett's side. "I don't get it."

Sennett patted her shoulder. "That's a good thing," he said. "Let's just leave it at that."

The Headmaster cleared his throat. "Alright, then, we have two sides. I know it's their war, but is it fair to ask human children to fight like soldiers? How big will this attack be?"

"Full-blown," Heloise and Kaname said at the same time.

The room stared at them. It was a long, awkward pause. Heloise shifted in her seat. Kaname, as usual, didn't seem bothered.

"Do you think we can handle it?" Cross asked Kaname.

"Don't ask me," Kaname said coolly. "Ask the weapon. Is she prepared to end this, once and for all?"

All the eyes moved to Allura. Even with Sennett right next to her, she felt so alone. Sayori moved to comfort her, but Yuki caught her by the arm. Allura was offered up like raw meat.

Clearing her throat, Allura said, "Tell me what I need to do, and I'll do it. I've seen a glimpse of this. I don't exactly understand how it works, but…" she looked deep into Sennett's eyes. "I think I might know how to flip the switch."

Sennett's eyes grew huge. "You mean…with Anna…?"

Heloise nodded. "You were thinking solely of Sennett at that time, weren't you? The panic triggered the power, which made you respond." She shook her head. "This is both good and bad news. Good news, we know what angle to work at it. Bad news, we have to teach you how to control it. Blowing us all up last time wasn't productive."

"Sorry," muttered Allura.

"It's not your fault," Sennett assured her. "If you hadn't gotten there in time, Daisy would have accidently killed me, too."

"I didn't save Anna," Allura reminded him.

"No sacrifice, no victory," Ruka mumbled.

The group turned to look at her. She simply shrugged them off.

"She's right," Sennett said. "You did something positive. Your power surged out and you used it."

Zero leaned over the table. "Now tell us, Alice Witch, do you think you can pull yourself together enough to do it again?"

Allura was speechless. Her eyes wandered the table. Vampire, human, and witch, all aligned—they were all begging her for help. Sennett tried not to plead with his eyes, but he did.

Sighing, she nodded. "I will. I'll do it."


	8. Chapter 8 Innocent Blood

Heloise, Kaname, Ruka, Aido, Zero, Yuki, Sennett, and Allura moved to the open area of the school. Kids opened the windows of their dorm rooms to see what the fuss was about, while others made a circle around the eight. Kaname, Ruka, and Aido stood on one end while Yuki, Zero, and Sennett stood at the other. In the middle were Heloise and Allura.

From across the field, Allura could see the worry lines on Sennett's face. He was as nervous as she felt.

"Shouldn't we make them…I don't know, look away?" she wondered aloud.

Heloise shook her head. "We agreed this wasn't going to be secret anymore. The council told Cross he had to mind-wipe them last time. This is completely different."

"How so?"

Heloise smirked. "This time, their hands are so full they can't stop us."

Allura sighed. "Once again with the end of the world talk," she said. "Alright, how do we do this? Are you going to run at me or something?"

"Me?" Heloise looked surprised. "Why would I be the one charging you in this fight? We're on the same side!"

Allura's stomach sank. "Don't tell me…" she looked over at Sennett and then back of at Kaname.

Sympathetically, Heloise put a hand on Allura's shoulder. "Don't worry," she said. "I've got your back."

Allura made a face. "Sorry if that isn't comforting to me."

Heloise didn't look at all bothered. "I get that a lot."

"Really?"

"My grandmother is the evil mastermind of the century," she pointed out.

Allura shrugged. "I guess that would make me a little suspicious, too," she admitted.

"It happens."

Across the field, Kaname gave them a slight wave. Heloise's eyes narrowed. Tension filled the air. She crouched down, her razor-sharp teeth suddenly very intimidating and her purple eyes blazing. Kaname seemed to mirror her. Beside him, Ruka and Aido stood in position. On the other end of the field, Sennett looked horrified.

"They won't kill us, will they?" Allura squeaked.

Heloise's voice was more high-pitched than normal. "I hope not."

Swallowing loudly, Allura bent down like Heloise. Adrenaline pulsed through her veins. Heloise looked so excited. She was downright terrified. Human instincts told her to run.

"Get ready!" Heloise hissed. "He's going to—"

Whatever it was Kaname was going to do, he did. Ruka flew into the air, her nails extended for Allura's face.

All Allura could do was open her mouth and let out a horrified shriek of terror.

The world exploded into an array of eye-stinging colors.

* * *

><p>A terrible ringing sound pounded against the inside of Allura's ears. Her whole body burned like it was on fire. Breathing in stung like her rib cage was being crushed and breathing out made her see red. Wind brushed against her lips, but they felt sandpapery and dry. Something was wrong. It was too painful, too different, and too…<em>supernatural<em> to be right. Her whole body screamed out at the wrongness.

"ALLURA!"

Sennett was nearby. Wherever he was, she couldn't see. The ringing sound tuned him out. She was just barely aware he was there, somewhere lost in the distance.

"Wake up, Allura," a soothing voice said. It was louder than the ringing now. Forcing her head to the side, she looked up. Through the red she saw golden blonde hair and the faintest color purple. It was washed out and watery, but as she blinked, the clearer it got. It was her, she realized, Heloise's grandmother's soul—the other part of it, the good part. "You're going to be alright, Allura. But you have to get up. Tell them how you feel. They'll understand. If you can't do it, they shouldn't force you. Honey, you're a person, too."

Allura blinked again. The ringing was silenced. Heloise's grandmother turned into a panicked Heloise. Breathing in, her lungs stung but the air felt good and fresh. It was like she had been holding her breath and her whole body came to life. She sat up, Sennett's arms immediately supporting her back. Leaning against him, she felt the hot tears rolling down her cheeks and stinging her face and neck.

"What happened?" she wheezed, immediately going into a coughing fit. "Where's Ruka? Is she okay?"

Sayori bent down next to Allura. "You got her pretty bad," she said. "Zero and Aido took her back to the Night Class dorm. Everybody's pretty shaken up."

The words took a moment to register. "I hurt Ruka?" she whispered. "But I didn't _do_ anything. All I could do was scream! I was frozen in place I was so terrified of what was going to happen!"

"Hey, hey," Sennett sat her up. "It's okay. You're okay."

"I'm _not_ okay!" she cried. "I landed on my ass! What happened—_whatever_ happened—I didn't control anything! Something else was doing it, just like before!"

"It was just one try," Heloise said. "Maybe next time…"

But even she didn't know how to finish that sentence. Tears fell from her eyes before she could. Embarrassed, she wiped at them, but they just kept coming.

"I'm useless, aren't I?" Allura whispered. "I can't control whatever it is. Since I can't control it, I could end up hurting everyone. I'm completely and totally useless!"

Nobody moved. Sennett locked eyes with Heloise, pleading for something. She just shook her head. Sayori reached for Allura's hand. Scrapes lined Allura's knuckles and bruises went from her wrist all the way up to her shoulder blades. Careful to avoid the more tender parts, Sayori took her hand.

"We'll think of something, Allura," she said.

There was a long pause.

"What if we just gave her to them?"

Everyone turned to see Shiki and Rima standing off to the side of the field. Rima, her umbrella high at attention, came down hard on Shiki's head.

"Dope!" she scolded him.

"I'm serious," he said. "If she's a ticking time bomb to us, then she'll be twice as bad for them, right?"

Kaname stood straighter. "Not exactly."

"How?" Shiki demanded. "Why isn't it the same?"

"Rowan isn't going to use _Allura_ against us," explained Heloise. "Rowan is the original soul. Put humpty dumpty back together again, there's no need for the soul."

Sayori's hand began to tremble.

"So…" Shiki looked right at Allura. "Why don't we just kill her ourselves?"

Sennett's grip became iron around Allura's waist. Pulling her off the ground, he clutched her across the chest in a defensive bear hug. "You're not going to kill Allura! I won't let you!"

Shiki's nails extended over his skin. "Who said you had any say? You're a low-class noble. Shut up and sit tight. It's just a human."

Rima's clenched her hands into fists around the handle of her umbrella. Raise it high above her head and let it come down hard against the side of Shiki's head.

"MORON!" she shrieked. "Why don't you _listen_?"

Shiki brushed her off. "Think realistically, Rima," he growled. "Not all of us are going to walk free of this. If it means killing one girl, maybe we can save a lot more lives—human, witch, _and_ vampire."

"He's right."

Kaname knew who the voice belonged to before anyone else. Ichijo, holding his sword in one hand and the sheath in the other was on the other end of the field. Tossing the sheath aside, he took stance.

"Will you hand her over or do I have to kill you to get to her, Sennett?" he asked.

Sennett bared his teeth. "Try and kill her," he hissed. "I'll rip your throat out."

Allura whimpered in his arms.

"Please, stop!" Sayori yelled. Getting to her feet, she moved towards Sennett and Allura but Yuki held her back. Sayori pulled her arm free of Yuki's grip. "Do something! You're a pureblood, aren't you? Isn't there anything you can do?"

Yuki looked like she had been smacked in the face. Shaking her head in disbelief, she stepped away from Sayori. Sayori wasn't angry—she looked betrayed.

"You help me over and over again, Yuki, but you can't help someone else for a change?" she pleaded. "Look at them!" Yuki did, but her eyes were misted and unseeing. "Look at them, Yuki! What can you do? They're about to kill each other! Isn't there anything—"

Kaname moved first. While everyone was distracted by Sayori, he grabbed Allura by the shoulders, pushed Sennett out of the way a second before Ichijo's sword dove for his heart, and sent Ichijo spiraling backwards into the grass.

Everyone stood paralyzed, watching as Kaname held Allura by her shoulders on the top of the Day Class dorm. Looking down, he and Yuki's eyes connected.

Everything clicked for her. "NO!" she screamed. "Kaname! Don't do it! _Kaname_!"

But no one could stop him. Stretching the skin between Allura's head and shoulder, exposing her neck, he let the familiar smell of Perry waft upward. Even now, she could hear her voice in his head.

_If there's any way out, any way at all that saves just one life, always take it, because you'll always regret the loss of that one life if you don't._

Allura screamed as his fangs pierced her neck. Seconds later, she was quiet, and then, slowly, she drifted into unconsciousness.

* * *

><p><strong>Ichijo Fans - Don't say I didn't warn you! :) For Shiki fans, he's only thinking of Rima. Rima, on the other hand, is thinking of their relationship and how he doesn't seem to see Sennett and Allura as not only the oppisite of them, but also as the same. It's kind of one of those moments where everyone is thinking of their own desires and forgets everyone else. Kaname, though it may seem he's thinking of Perry, is actually thinking of somebody else! :)<strong>

**And so we write on!**

**Jam Jones**


	9. Chapter 9 Blood for Blood

No one saw who sprang first.

Yuki, unleashing Artemis, sprang for Kaname. Kaname, letting Allura slip from his arms and fall towards the ground below, launched off the dorm and at Yuki.

From the ground, Sennett ran straight past Ichijo, hurtling himself at falling Allura. His arms encased her, safely holding her as they hit the ground with a loud _thump_!

Yuki, on the other hand, swung back and aimed for Kaname's throat. The new scythe-Artemis swung easily and lashed out at Kaname, but he was quicker. Ducking down, he sped right past her, hit the ground, jumped back up, and locked his arms around her shoulders.

They fell in a deadlock. Yuki tried to struggle free, but she dropped Artemis and found herself powerless. Before they hit the ground, Kaname flipped her over so she hit the ground first. Snarling, he didn't even her a second's warning before his teeth were in _her_ neck.

"KANAME!" Ruka screamed.

Zero cocked his bloody rose. "You went too far this time, Kuran."

"No!" Heloise grabbed the gun by the barrel and pointed it towards the ground. When the others tried to surge forward, she raised her palm and sent a flurry of patterns in their direction. A golden barrier appeared around Kaname and Yuki. Nobody could go anywhere near them.

"What are you _doing_?" Zero roared.

"He's not trying to hurt her!" Heloise yelled back. "In fact, he just did her a really big favor!"

"What is she talking about?" Ichijo demanded. "He's suffering from the witch blood! Now it's in _her_ system! That's two pureblood vampires we're down in this war!"

"No," a new voice said.

The group turned around. Ruka, Aido, and Ichijo flinched at the girl with sea-green hair dressed in all black. They recognized her immediately, but this time around, she was dressed in a black leather jacket, jeans, and combat boots. Her hair was cut shorter then before and tied up in a stubby ponytail. By studying her, you could see she was younger and, to their surprise, her eyes were no longer magenta. To the iris, they had the same deep purple color that Heloise's had.

It was Ruka who addressed her. "Aren't you…Perry?"

When she turned, it was like looking in a mirror. She smiled. "You must have known the human me," she said. "Were we friends when I was alive?"

Ruka was baffled. "What…are you talking about? Where did you even come from? We saw you—kind of—die!"

"Didn't Heloise tell you?" Perry cocked her head to the side. "I'm in charge of teaching the Keepers."

"It's part of the Alice Witch reincarnation process," explained Heloise. "The human host is reborn as a witch as part of the deal. Our lives revolve around the upkeep and the purity of souls. Being the Alice Witch, being a source of pure power, is a great honor. In doing so, her soul was given the option to be reborn."

"Of course, I don't remember more about then the Alice Keepers and the Alice Witch then I do about myself," Perry said. "I know my name, an outline of the life I once led, the identities of my Alice Keepers, and one other name from my past life. No explanation, just a name."

"So…you know about being the Alice Witch?" Aido asked.

Perry nodded.

"What was the name?" Ruka asked. "Who did you choose to remember?"

"I know the name Kaname," she said, holding her hand to her forehead as if she were in some great pain. "That was the name I chose to keep, to be spoken from my lips when I awoke in this life. _Kaname_. I think I told him a secret once."

Ruka shifted from foot to foot impatiently. "What kind of secret? What does that have to do with this?"

"He was Perry's partner," Heloise said. "The partner was allowed to drink the blood of the Alice Witch."

"But you don't know _why_," Zero reminded her bitterly.

"I do," Perry said suddenly. "I think I told Kaname. Maybe that was the secret. We figured it out."

The group stared back at Kaname. He slowly stood up, wiping stray blood from his mouth. His eyes were a deeper red then they had ever seen before. His fangs were fully extended, waiting and watching as the barrier decorated with patterns flickered before his eyes.

"Wake up, Kaname," Heloise commanded.

He snarled, twisting his whole face like an animal. Sayori gripped Zero's arm. She trembled from head to toe, while the others watched as he regained control slowly.

His fangs retracted. His posture improved. Smoothing the front of his uniform, he relaxed his shoulders. Kaname was Kaname again. Ruka walked forward, staring into his eyes.

"Can you hear me?" she asked.

"Yes," he said. His voice was composed and controlled. This was the Kaname they all knew. Heloise locked eyes with him one last time to be sure. "I'm better, Ms. Aaru."

Heloise's head bobbed once. Holding open her right palm, a simple, single pattern appeared. _Lock. _Curling her fingers inward, it began to change. _Unlock. _It twisted and flew open, releasing the boundary.

Zero ran for Yuki.

Kaname stood, arms crossed, as Zero ran past him without so much as a glance back. Taking Yuki in his arms, he studied her bleeding shoulder and started talking to her.

"Old habits die hard," said Ichijo, sheathing his sword. "Now tell us, Kaname, what the hell did you do?"

"Help!" Sennett reappeared, holding Allura in his arms. "I don't know what's wrong with her! Her eyes…they're…"

In his arms, Allura blinked. At first it seemed like a trick of the light, maybe a mistake, but then Sayori gasped.

Allura's eyes had turned red.

"Something's wrong with me…" she whispered. "I feel so…hungry."

Sennett watched in horror as her arms trailed up his chest and wrapped around his neck. He didn't dare pull away. Allura's nose took his the depth of his scent, and then, unsure for a second but following her instinct, she bit into his neck.

"Allura…" Sennett wobbled. "You have to be careful."

At the sound of his voice, she retracted. "Sennett?" she whispered into his shirt. "What did I just do?"

"You're fine…"

_"What did I just do?" _she shrieked.

Kaname gave her a bitter chuckle. "Calm down," he said. "It's not like you wouldn't ask for it on your own some day. Sennett couldn't do it; he didn't have the pride to ask, so I did it. Congratulations, ex-Alice Witch. You've now got the man of your dreams forever."

Allura nuzzled into Sennett's neck. "Is that so? _Forever_?"

"Unless someone kills us before then," Sennett said sarcastically, looking over at Shiki.

Rima nudged Shiki. The careless look on his face remained, but he gave Sennett the shrug of the shoulders. Not exactly an apology, but at least it was something.

"So…what happened?" Heloise asked. "Some sort of blood transfer? If Allura's not the Alice Witch anymore, who is?"

"I am."

Yuki was holding her hand against her shoulder blade to stop the bleeding. Leaning against Zero's shoulder, she looked brave and angry. It wasn't directed at Kaname, but there was tension between the two.

"But…how?" Sayori asked.

"That's what I told you to do, wasn't it?" Perry asked. Kaname stopped dead at the sight of her. Somehow, he had overlooked her completely. Now she was dead center, staring into his eyes. Ruka watched in pain as he walked forward as if in a trance. His arms went up and around her faster than Ruka could blink. Perry acted as if this were natural, without thought to what it meant or how often he had done this before. Her arms wrapped around his waist, making her look so tiny. "You're Kaname."

"You're Perry," he said.

"I'm Perry, but I don't have any of the old Perry's memories," she said, looking up into his eyes in a way Ruka had never seen anyone else do before. "I'm a witch, but not the Alice Witch. You can't bite me."

"You don't have to worry about that," he promised.

"I hope so, for both of our sakes." Her eyes glassed over. "You know what happens when a pureblood vampire drinks a witch's blood, right? The venom does the same thing to the witch that the witch's blood does to the vampire."

He said, "I know."

Yuki shook her head. "This is wrong! I'm a vampire, how can I also be a witch? Allura's not the Alice Witch or a human anymore, she's a vampire. Perry was supposedly dead, but now…"

"That's how things go," Perry said with a smile. "When witches roamed more freely, the world was a much more exotic place. Changes were made to benefit those who needed change. Humans are descended from witches that lost their powers over time. Generations just simply found no use for them anymore and they were lost. Vampires came from a society of witches that wanted to find a way to create eternal life, you see our lives are not forever, simply extended—but by mistake, corrupted themselves for future generations until they developed fully. It's all just…fate."

"But something happened," Yuki said. "Something terrible."

"Yes," Perry's face darkened. "That was not Rowan's doing. If anything, Rowan saved us all more than once. There was a corrupt witch before Rowan that managed to summon something huge. We had no idea where it came from, so none of us had the ability, strength, or knowledge to fight it—everyone was at a loss but Rowan. Somehow, she sealed the thing into herself—but in doing so, feared the worst. Splitting her power off, the only power that could compete with such soul corruption, she vowed not to stop coming back until the job was done."

Sayori smiled. "So here we are."

Perry nodded, flashing Heloise a grin. "Yes," she looked embarrassed but held Kaname closer. "Here we are."

"Where do we go from here?" Ichijo asked.

"I thought you were on the other side," Sennett said.

"There are only two sides that I see."

Yuki sighed and said, "Very well—you will all remain here and protect the Academy while Heloise and I go."

"You're not going alone," Zero said.

Yuki looked up at him. "I'm the Alice Witch. It's my job."

"I hate to admit it, but going alone wasn't the best idea last time," Heloise pointed out. "Even with me, we wouldn't be able to take on Rowan and her bodyguards."

"So I'll go," said Kaname. Perry's face twisted in agony, pulling at his jacket. "Don't worry, Perry. I'll come back. I have things to do."

"Take me with," she pleaded.

"Not this time," he said.

Perry's face flushed. "You don't trust me."

"No," he lied. "I just don't want you facing Rowan again."

"Kaname, we'll go," Rima offered. "You stay behind and provide some order for everyone who stays behind. Shiki and I can take up Heloise and Yuki's rear."

Aido tried to add, "Me too—" but Ruka silenced him with a death glare. "I guess I'll stay here," he decided. Ruka nodded in approval.

Zero watched as Yuki's eyes fell on Sayori. "Don't worry," he said. "I'll watch out for her. She'll be helpful in keeping the Day Class students safe this time around."

Yuki brightened. "Thanks, Zero."

"Just come back."

Yuki gave him a nod.

"What about us?" Allura asked. Her arms were still locked around Sennett's neck. "No offense, but I feel really…_weird_. This is crazy. Am I going to start eating people?"

"Not while I'm around," Sennett said, ruffling her hair. As he did, Allura slid in his arms.

"Hey!" she whined. "Either you're going to hold me or ruffle my hair, but let's not try them both at the same time, okay?"

"Whatever you say," he said, leaning in to kiss her.

Allura blushed. "You dork."

"Yeah," Yuki was unimpressed by the display of affection. "You two are definitely staying here. As part of the Night Class. By part, I mean the part that has no idea what's going on until something happens."

Both of them just shrugged. "Works for us."


	10. Chapter 10 The Sacrifice Witch

The gates were closed. Day Class students were ordered to remain inside. At least a hundred aristocratic vampire children roamed the grounds, watching the oddly-colored red moon as they made their rounds. The very air smelled crisp and wrong.

Yuki sat with Heloise and Sayori, watching as Rima and Shiki spoke with Kaname. At first they argued, glancing over at Ruka and Aido, but eventually gave up. Whatever went down, they saw sense with whatever Kaname said.

Across the grounds, Perry was doing last-minute training with the Alice Keepers. To Yuki's surprise, none of them looked nearly as frightened as she was. Maybe because a subconscious part of them accepted their fate—for Yuki, all she felt was the human she used to be combined with a strange, funky-taste-leaving energy in the inside of her mouth.

"I can't get used to this," Sayori said. "First you had brown-ish eyes, then they were red, and now…the magenta color seems more off then the other two combined."

Heloise nodded. "That first day you stare into your reflection and realize _this is me_ is always the hardest."

Yuki hadn't gone anywhere near reflective surfaces for that very reason. All day, she had avoided eye contact with everyone. Thinking about the strangeness of herself made her body shiver. Something so…_unnatural_ had never existed before.

"We're going to be okay," Heloise said. "The fight will be long and hard…but we've got the motivations behind us."

Sayori laughed, "You believe in good and evil?"

"Once again, we're back to the discussion of souls and mortality," Heloise rambled on like a teacher. "We're the most religious species of the three. Souls are everything to us. Murder of a vampire or a witch is like any other animal—but to kill another witch, _any_ witch, is a punishable crime. I don't think anyone would follow Rowan if she killed another witch."

Confusion filled Sayori's eyes. "But…the Alice Witch is a witch, too, isn't she?"

"Not by their means," Yuki explained. "To them…I'm more human then witch. They don't understand that I'm part of the old Rowan's soul. To them, I'm just a holder of power."

Perry sat down beside them in the grass. "I'm sure my life was no different. I distinctly remember running like my life depended on it." For a second, her eyes grew thoughtful. "Maybe it did. I don't know. Sometimes I get lost in my own so-called memories."

Silence followed.

* * *

><p>Heloise slipped into the bathroom. Sighing, she studied her eyes in the mirror. What the others saw as strange were her eyes. Over the years, she had come to accept and admire them. It made her different. Not human. The purpose she held towards this fight reflected in them, showing a worn-down, tired girl.<p>

Lifting up her shirt to expose her belly, she studied the writing that crossed it like Allura's had once had. Two words, longer then the Alice Witch translation had been.

"What does it mean?" Sayori asked, appearing from behind her. Somehow, she had snuck into the bathroom after her. "Allura had the writing, too. You said it was 'Alice Witch.' What does your writing mean?"

"My name is _Sacrifice Witch_," Heloise said, turning around. "Each witch is named for her life. I gave my purpose to finding the Alice Witch and training not only her, but the Keepers. I did that."

Even as she said it, her blood spiked. The warning she had always received from lying to someone. Witches found it wrong to lie, but Heloise knew by now it was easier to tell a simple lie then a painful truth. It let people believe there was hope for a happy ending.

"So what do you do know that it's over?" she asked.

"I'm going to go home," Heloise said. It was mostly true—when a witch died, they went back to the homeland above. When their purpose was served, they didn't have much to live for.

Smiling, Sayori walked over and gave her a hug. "I'm happy for you." She said. "I hope that one day, we can put this all behind us and move forward."

Forcing a smile, Heloise said, "Me too."

* * *

><p>Kaname was the first to spot Rowan. Second were the outside ground patrol. Calling out, the other vampires began to alert the Keepers, and in the yard, Yuki, Sayori, Heloise, and Perry stood up.<p>

Behind Rowan was a witch army. Not hundreds, like one would imagine; but maybe a hundred, being scarce but powerful. They had a monstrous aura of darkness and the sky struck down with colorful lightning to greet them.

"Kaname!" Rowan called. "I will honor our agreement! Give me the Alice Witch and you and your loved ones shall remain unharmed!"

Kaname jumped down and stepped forward. Across the field, Rowan did the same. The two moved at the same easy pace, meeting in the middle.

"Do you have her?" she asked.

"Yes," Kaname said. "And I'll hand her over—but not here. I have representatives awaiting you on the roof of the Night Class dorm. Under my command, they're holding her with the intent to kill her if you don't come alone."

Rowan nodded. "Making sure I keep my end of the bargain by letting you run off first, aye?" She smirked. "I respect that. Very well, Kaname, you have your freedom—and my best wishes."

"To you as well, Queen Aaru," Kaname said, sweeping into a bow. "Let us both hope that you grant them mercy. Don't let this Academy become your first massacre site."

Razor-sharp teeth welcomed his request. "Don't be silly, Kaname," she said. "For my takeover to be complete, no human or vampire may share any signs of peace. This Academy—as a symbol of what is to come—must be the very first to fall."

Kaname retreated a few steps. "As you wish."

Racing backward, he leaped the gate in a single bound. The others knew this signal.

Standing in silence, they waited for the whole world to come baring down on them, hoping that they wouldn't be silenced forever in one terrible, bloody swoop.

Together, they prayed.

* * *

><p><strong>Getting closer to the end now! R&amp;R! :)<strong>


	11. Chapter 11 The Witch Who Prays

_Even thought I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me._

Standing tall, eyes locked with those of the enemy, Heloise kept her head high.

_Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident._

The need for vengeance filled her with all sorts of mixed emotions—fear and dread, despair and anger, but also joy and a bloodthirsty want to destroy. Clenching her hands into fists, she turned back to her thoughts.

_That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day._

"You're praying," Perry stated.

Heloise couldn't deny it. "My mother once told me there's a power stronger in words we believe then in the actions we see," she said. "Even when I learned I was not of the human kind, but an undying witch soul, I refused to let go of my beliefs. There are some things you can never let go of, no matter how many lifetimes you live."

"How long ago did she die?" Perry asked.

"About ten years ago," Heloise said. "To this day, I still find myself envying her. Innocence, love, and passion—they're things I've come to forget sometimes. She had them all and died without a single fear in her eyes. I never saw how at peace with the human world she was until the day she passed."

"So she knew?"

"Knew? She tried to hide me from my grandmother for so long. Not once did she succeed, but when I ran, she was right there. It was the one time I felt like I knew her."

A small smile tweaked at Perry's lips. "At least you knew her."

"He'll tell you," Heloise glanced in Kaname's direction. "It may take time, but one day, I'm sure he will tell you everything you've missed. At one time, he felt no fear in doing so. It'll come again."

Perry nodded but said nothing. Sensing a change in the tension in the air, Heloise began to walk towards the Day Class building.

"Heloise!" she called out.

Heloise turned back around.

"I…know," she said. "About Kaname…but also…what you're planning. I don't know how I know, but…I do. There's nothing I can say except…thank you."

Heloise felt herself smile. "You've been a good friend, Perry," she said. "Be careful."

"You be careful, too."

* * *

><p>Ichijo was already hidden in among the shadows of the building. From where he stood, he had a clear view of Shiki, Rima, and Yuki, standing on the other end of the rooftop. They didn't see him, and as she drew closer, neither did Rowan. Blinded by her lust to obtain the Alice Witch, she was careless and speedy. Dropping onto the rooftop, she addressed the two vampires with disgust.<p>

"You're his holders?" she scoffed. "I can sense your connection, not only with each other, but with the girl. How sweet."

Heloise fell against the wall next to Ichijo.

"What are you doing?" he hissed, barely glancing away from the exchange site. "Shouldn't you be out there?"

"She's my _grandmother_," Heloise snapped. "I think she might recognize me. So…I need your sword."

Ichijo's eyebrows arched up. "WHAT?"

"Please," she begged, staring at the backs of Yuki, Rima, and Shiki. "There's only one way this can end…really end. No spell will work on her. No anti-vampire weapon will do the job. Not even vampire abilities can knock her down for too long. Just a plain, simple sword should do the job."

Ichijo pushed off the wall. "Then I'll do it."

"NO!" Heloise hissed, catching his arm. "It can't be you, Ichijo. I'm sorry. This time, it has to be me."

* * *

><p>"You won't win this war," Yuki said. "We have powerful friends. I'm sure they'll be able to stop you."<p>

"Not likely," Rowan cackled. "Even Kaname has bowed down to me. You're just a simple human girl, Miss Alice. This shall be your last reincarnation. After tonight, you die."

Yuki flinched.

"Oh? Do I scare you?" Rowan smiled, showing a whole set of sharper-than-knives teeth. They didn't have the dulled-down effect Heloise's or Perry's had. Not even Allura's had been quite as horrifying. "There's only one last step to this. Show me your marks."

It took Yuki a moment to realize what she meant. The marks, not where she'd been bitten, but across her stomach—the same marks Allura had received when she'd been reborn.

Gently pulling up her shirt, she revealed the strangely written marks, identical to Allura's.

_Alice Witch_, it read.

"Perfect," Rowan said. "I found you. I finally—"

There was a roaring battle cry and then the world exploded for Yuki. Her insides burned and cold shivers pierced her chest, close but not exactly to the heart.

"I'm sorry, Yuki," Heloise's whisper was in her ear. "I couldn't let you fight her. Not after what happened last time."

Yuki first fell to her knees, the blade blurry in her eyes. The blade was sticky with her crimson-colored blood.

"I have to pull it out now," Heloise went on. "You should be numb, but…" she retracted it a little bit. No pain seared through Yuki's chest. She was just cold. "Thank goodness."

Pulling it the rest of the way, Heloise held the blade high. Walking around Yuki, she faced Rowan.

A small, vicious smile crossed her lips.

"Come at me, bitch."

* * *

><p><strong>We have an estimated two chapters to go! I'm so excited! For more awesome stories, check out either my other Jam Jones stories, or if you're more into actual books, I'd go for my other, more personal account, Jalissa Chase!<strong>

**Love Always,**

**Jam Jones**


	12. Chapter 12 Into the Fire

"I _dare_ you."

Heloise's taunts got Rowan. Arching her back, she shrieked in anger. It was inhuman, almost like the sound of nails on a chalkboard mixed with a screeching firework.

"How dare you!" she roared. "That was the key to our survival, Heloise! You dare to ruin things for everyone else by acting out on your own selfish desires, you selfish, ungrateful, ignorant brat?"

Heloise shrugged and threw the bloodied sword aside. "You know what they say, Grammy, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, does it?"

That was the last straw. In the blink of an eye, Rowan threw herself at Heloise. Hands engulfed in golden fire, she slammed against Heloise's small frame and took her down.

Blood ran along Heloise's cheeks, flowing down her neck and shoulders, matting her hair as she continued to smile up at her grandmother.

"How dare you cross me!" her grandmother shrieked.

"I'm not your pawn, you bitter old woman," she spat blood.

Rowan frowned, watching the blood spill. "I didn't want to have to kill you, Heloise. I had hoped you would turn the Bureau around. Maybe convince them to get off their high horse. Now I see no such future for you."

"It would seem so." Heloise smiled.

"Why are you still grinning?" Rowan demanded. "I'm killing you! Why aren't you fighting me?"

"I already won," she choked on throaty coughs. "Why ruin a peaceful victory?"

Rowan released her grip. "But I…"

"Mortality, my dear grandmother," she whispered, losing her breath. "If you're a cold-blooded murderer of your own kind, who would dare follow you to the ends of the earth? We're not called 'human' for a reason. We're witches—we follow our own morals."

Coughing one last time, she let her lips fall slack and her eyes shut. Her body loosened all at once. Slinking into the puddle around her, her body grew cold and then exploded into a shower of light.

Rowan's expression went from confusion to anger to horror. Looking down at her hands, she watched as the fire ignited within them died and they went cold.

"NO!" She roared.

"So that's what she meant," Perry said, appearing beside Yuki's shuddering form. "We have rules, too, don't we? When a witch kills another witch—the crime of all witches—she loses her powers forever, but is forced to walk the earth, as a human, until she dies and shall never be reincarnated again."

Rowan sank to the ground. "No…" she whispered. "I won. There's no need for the Alice Witch. Without her and without that stupid fool…" she stared at Heloise's lifeless body. "What have I done?"

"You mean 'what have _we_ done?'" Perry corrected. "I'm still a part of you. It's just a fragment now, but…I still feel it. And it's obvious. We killed our own grandchild." Kneeling down, she brushed Yuki's hair out of her eyes. "How do you feel? Kaname's on his way to give you some blood."

Rowan's head snapped up. "What? Blood?"

Kaname appeared beside her. "You said it yourself, didn't you? This Alice Witch was different than the others." Walking forward, he kneeled beside Yuki. "She's a vampire—a pureblood vampire—and my sister."

Yuki searched and found his neck. Letting her canines extend, she closed her eyes and began to drink.

Slowly, the wound closed and she felt the pain disappear.

"You save someone, you kill someone," Perry whispered. "The Alice Witch—the new _us_, Rowan—is alive. She's still all-powerful and no doubt will the people follow her without you around to control them. The Keepers will strengthen once again, and the Bureau will flourish. You've finally lost the war."

Rowan watched in amazement as Yuki regained control. Standing up, welcoming a helpful shoulder from both Shiki and Rima, she faced Rowan herself.

"Next time, we will kill you, rather than go through that again," she said. "Do you understand?"

Zero appeared beside Rowan. "Should I show her back to her army?"

"They're not her army anymore," Perry said. "They're Yuki's now, but I don't think it would hurt to show them the face of their past leader. Show them the face of a murderer."

"I'll be down after you, Zero," Yuki said. "I just…need to check on Sayori and the others. There won't be battle now, right?"

Kaname shook his head. "No," he said. "It's over. Finally."

His eyes lingered on the broken, bloodied body of Heloise Aaru.

* * *

><p><strong>Ding-Dong, the Witch is dead! :)<strong>


	13. Chapter 13 When Everything Ends

The next few hours were a messy blur.

All around the Academy, forces stood down and acknowledged the other. The witches, though some looked hesitant, embraced Perry's explanation for the situation, and as they were faced with Rowan, they understand: the overthrowing had failed.

"I can't help but feel I've woken up from a long, long nightmare," one of the witches told Gail, a male Keeper. She smiled. "It feels nice to see a vampire and feel no anger."

On the vampire side, Allura and Sennett hung close to Rima and Shiki. Occasionally, Allura would fall prey to her new instincts, so the three of them would make a circle around her while she fed. Rima seemed to be okay with it, while Shiki and Sennett still held some hard feelings.

After a long eternal debate, Ichijo followed the two bravest Keepers, Dean and Farley, as they carried Heloise's body down to the Headmaster's office. Setting Heloise down on a blanket the nurse had provided, they politely bowed their heads and made their way out.

Ichijo slipped inside while Cross bent over Heloise, searching for her hand and saying a human prayer.

"Do witches believe in your human religions?" he asked.

Cross didn't look up; he merely released Heloise's hand and stood up. "You were there, weren't you? Her witchlight passed on, but her witch soul did not."

Ichijo remembered the small explosion of golden light. "So she won't be reincarnated?"

Cross turned around. At first, Ichijo was too shocked to speak. Tears streamed down his face, but his lips were upturned in a small smile. He was grieving more than anyone else.

"Technically, she won't," he said. "The body will be reborn, along with the powers, the strength, the same features…but Heloise won't be around. She's with her mother now."

"You knew her mother?"

Cross laughed. "Know her? Yes, you could say that."

Across the hall, down a set of stairs, Yuki Kuran is making her way across the schoolyard. Her footing is loose but easy, babying the wound in her shoulder, but she felt almost normal. Now, the only thing on her mind was getting back to whatever was going on.

Careful not to draw too much attention to herself, Yuki strolled through the small crowds of people. Rima and Allura laughing at Sennett and Shiki's little boy fights; a few Keepers helping to bandage a few vampires who had decked it out with a first wave of witches in the beginning; and Sayori, sitting in the middle of a vampire-witch-human girl group, laughing as if it were normal.

The sight in itself was enough to make Yuki freeze.

"Weird, isn't it?" Perry asked. Yuki spun around, surprised to find Perry hanging on Kaname's arm like it was natural. "At first, I didn't know what to think…but…it fits."

"What do you mean?" asked Yuki.

"I woke up," Perry said. "I'm not the Alice Witch anymore, but…my memories all came back. The moment Heloise died, the moment I saw the bright light come off her body…I knew who I was again."

Kaname's grip tightened around her.

"So…you two…" Yuki blushed.

"Are going to pick up where we left off, hopefully," Perry smiled up at Kaname. "It will be more difficult then we can imagine, but we're two of the most stubborn people in this world."

Kaname gave her a small smile, but his eyes reflected how worried he was.

"Well," Perry dropped out of his lock. "I have to go check on Allura. Without Heloise around, it'll be my job to make sure she's…okay."

Shyly nodding in Yuki's direction, she walked towards the small group of vampires surrounding Allura. Kaname looked pained as he watched her go.

"Will you be alright?" Yuki asked.

"I feel better than I have in a long time," he said. Pain ached in Yuki's chest. "It's just…" his eyes followed Perry's every move. "I find it hard to let her go now, after what happened last time."

Perry tapped on Allura's shoulder, making the girl jump. Spinning around, Allura's face lit up as she recognized Perry. Thinking like a human, she went in for a hug—only to be denied by Perry. Pain flickered in Allura's eyes, but Sennett's arms wrapped around her from behind.

"Your Sennett is still out there, Yuki." Kaname said suddenly. "It's not me, my time has come and gone in another life…but you've guess is as good as mine."

Yuki watched Kaname's eyes sway away from Perry, watching seriously as Zero entered the group, shaking hands with Perry and giving Sennett a small punch on the arm.

"Thank you," she turned around. "But we're still a long way from being ready to take that road. I have all new responsibilities as the Alice Witch. For now, we must make sure all of Rowan's followers have been stopped."

Kaname laughed. "Whatever you say, Lady Kuran."

With a small, mischievous smile, he walked away. Grounding her feet into the ground, Yuki made a second-decision. She hated herself for doing it, but she called after him.

"Kaname!" he turned. She faltered. "I meant it. Thank you." She looks at Zero, staring off into space as the other gathered vampires and witches talked. "But not yet." She looked back and met his eyes.

Kaname gave her a single nod.

"I understand."


	14. Chapter 14 Kudos

_To my beloved audience:_

_This was my first fanfiction. It was a long, interesting process, but I really enjoyed it. Your kind words and messages have been great. I know some of you expected things to end differently, but I did warn you-this was my game with my pieces to play. For now, the Knightmare ends here. Vampire Knight's storyline has all begun to blend together for me, losing the flare it once had, but I still love Yuki and Zero to pieces. I wish them and my readers both the best in the future!_

_Love Always,_

_~Jalissa Chase_

_P.S. Kudos to the Rage of Fire, Vafreek, and Peyton the Blood Alchemist for their awesome support! Love you guys! :)_


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